You can usually stop using crutches when two things are true: your surgeon has cleared you to put your full weight through the leg, and you can walk WITHOUT a limp. Pain, strength and balance all feed into the second part.
For many people that’s somewhere between a few days and three months, depending on the operation. After a knee trim it can be days. After a broken ankle fixed with plates and screws it’s often closer to three months.
Don’t jump straight from two crutches to nothing. Step down in stages: two crutches, then one crutch or a cane, then nothing. Your surgeon’s weight-bearing instructions come first at every stage.
Signs you’re ready to step down
- Surgeon clearance: you’re allowed full weight, or weight as tolerated. If you’re on a partial or no-weight limit, the crutches stay, however good the leg feels. See weight bearing after surgery
- No limp: your steps are even in length and timing, and you’re not leaning over the operated side. A friend watching you walk is a good judge
- Pain: mild and not getting worse as you walk. Pain that makes you hitch or lean means you need the support a little longer
- Strength: you can stand on the operated leg for a few seconds while holding a kitchen counter, without the hip dropping or the knee buckling
- Balance and confidence: you can turn, stop and step around things without grabbing for support
Step down in stages
- Two crutches to one: hold the single crutch on the side opposite your operated leg. Try it indoors first, on flat floors you know
- One crutch to a cane: a cane gives less support, so make this switch once walking with one crutch looks and feels even
- Cane to nothing: start indoors. Keep the cane for outdoors, crowds, slopes and long walks for a while longer
- If the limp comes back, go back a step: a limp by the end of a walk means you’ve done too much without support. There’s no prize for ditching the crutches early
Walk well with a cane before you try to walk without one.
Which hand holds the cane?
Hold the cane or single crutch in the hand OPPOSITE your operated leg. If your right knee was operated on, the cane goes in your left hand.
- Why the opposite side: the cane moves forward with the operated leg, the way your arm swings naturally when you walk. It shares the load and helps stop you leaning over the sore side
- Height: with your arm hanging by your side, the top of the cane should reach the crease of your wrist, so your elbow bends slightly when you hold it
- Pattern: cane and operated leg forward together, then step through with the good leg
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has a clear illustrated guide to using crutches, canes and walkers.
Stairs as you wean off
- Up with the good leg: the good leg leads going up because it’s strong enough to lift you. The operated leg and the cane follow
- Down with the operated leg: cane first, then the operated leg, then the good leg, so the good leg does the lowering
- Use the rail: hold the rail on one side and the cane on the other. If the rail is on the “wrong” side, use it anyway and carry the cane
- Stairs come last: many people walk on the flat without aids a while before they manage stairs step over step. That’s normal
Typical timelines by surgery
These are common ranges. Your surgeon’s protocol overrides them.
- Knee replacement: most people move to one crutch or a cane around weeks 2 to 3, and walk without an aid by around 6 to 8 weeks. See exercises after knee replacement
- Hip replacement: often one crutch or a cane somewhere in weeks 2 to 6, then nothing once the limp has gone. See hip replacement recovery week by week
- ACL reconstruction: crutches for about 1 to 2 weeks, until you can walk with a straight knee and no limp
- Knee arthroscopy trim: often a day to a few days
- Meniscus repair: often 4 to 6 weeks, sometimes with a brace
- Hip arthroscopy: from a week or two to about two months, depending on how much repair work was done
- Broken ankle with plates and screws: weaning from two crutches to one to none often happens between weeks 6 and 12, as you move out of the boot. See broken ankle surgery recovery
- Achilles repair: you step down as the boot and heel wedges are reduced, following your team’s schedule
Go to the emergency department if
- You fall and can’t put any weight on the operated leg, or it looks bent or out of shape
- After a hip replacement, you feel a sudden clunk with severe pain and the leg looks shorter or turned
- You have chest pain or sudden shortness of breath. Call emergency services
Call your surgeon today if
- Your calf becomes painful, swollen or warm
- You get new, sharp pain after going without crutches, or the leg starts giving way
- Swelling jumps up after you drop the crutches and doesn’t settle overnight
Mention it at your next review if
- You’re still limping well past the time you were given
- Your balance feels poor without support. See balance exercises to prevent falls
- Crutches are making your shoulders sore
- You’re not sure whether you’re allowed full weight yet
Your surgeon decides when the leg can take your weight. Your walk decides when the crutches can go.